


The Importance of a Timepiece

by Eissel



Series: Argent Impetus (Timekeeper AU) [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: (But Ed is in this so you know), Allusions to Yet Another Man's Battlefield/His Battlefield Once More, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Buckle up gang we're going for a ride and a half, Dialogue Heavy, Discussions of Life and Death, Gen, Light Angst, Philosophy, Rain, Some Plot, Swearing, This started as an experiment but ballooned out to a new AU, talking in the rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21785242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eissel/pseuds/Eissel
Summary: Ed and Roy sit on the roof, and talk about something they’ve kept bottled up about, because in the end, they’re too similar by half.Or: Two alchemists bitch about rain
Relationships: Edward Elric & Roy Mustang
Series: Argent Impetus (Timekeeper AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569994
Comments: 5
Kudos: 64





	The Importance of a Timepiece

**Author's Note:**

> This is AU as hell, and was inspired by certain video game abilities that let you cast from your own pool of hit points. 
> 
> Essentially, Alchemists are on a clock, as soon as they produce their first transmutation, a clock starts, counting down until the day they die. There’s only one way to keep it at bay: To keep performing alchemy, they very power that’s killing them in the first place.

“Bastard.” Ed greets, nudging the door closed with his foot. “The hell are you doing up here?” He strolls to the railing, taking a moment to spare a glance to the city below them, grim and grey. “What, you wanted to feel useless or something?”

“Hard to feel more useless than I already feel Fullmetal.” Mustang said, mumbling to his chest, hand shielding something from Ed’s vision. He winced, realizing that he hadn’t said the most  _ tactful  _ thing to the man in front of him. 

In short, Mustang looked like  _ shit.  _ His uniform was soaking wet, and his hair was dripping with water. He looked about as alive as the rest of Central. Ed sidled over to him, an apology on his tongue, when he saw Mustang lift a white stick to his mouth.

“What the hell is  _ wrong  _ with you bastard?!” He knocked it out of the man’s hands, eliciting a curse from the older man. 

“Fullmetal, the  _ hell- _ ”

“Fuck off!” Ed gave Mustang a rough shove, sending him sprawling on the ground. Ed stepped back, eyes tracking the silver pocket watch that spilled out of his pocket. His eyes widened as he took in the scene. “You-”

“I never meant for you to see that.” The other alchemist sighed, and picked himself up. “Damn, now my gloves are wet. Wetter.” 

“You-”

“Repeating yourself again Fullmetal, I know you have a short memory, but it’s not this bad.” He snapped. Ed swallowed, still staring at the pocket watch in Mustang’s hands. 

“Your watch, doesn’t it get damaged in the rain?” He asked, dodging around his real question. Mustang gave him a baleful look.

“It’s  _ metal  _ Fullmetal, you of all people should know that metal  _ rusts. _ ”

“Iron does, silver doesn’t.” He replied automatically.

“Please look up the meaning of facetious later Fullmetal.” Mustang sighed, and put the watch back into his pocket. Ed caught a glimpse of a large dent in its center, cracking the Amestrian Dragon. 

“Doesn’t it hurt?” And he  _ hated  _ the way his voice had gotten all quiet, but he  _ had  _ to ask. Mustang went silent, staring off into space. 

“On some days.”

“Don’t you do any al- Oh. Right.” He looked away as Mustang arched an eyebrow. “It’s raining.” He cradled his automail arm. He could relate a little to the pain of being in the rain, though it was likely nowhere near the pain Mustang was feeling right now. 

“Some days I do, usually in the office. The men don’t mind.”

“Hawkeye won’t shoot you?”

“Not on those days.” He chuckled. “She gets protective even, fusses over me more than usual. Gives me spare paper to burn.”

“Good, you need it. Can’t have your clock running out this early.” Ed said, eyes still drawn back to the pocket that contained the watch. 

“That’d be pretty bad, wouldn’t it.” Mustang closed his eyes. “I can’t help but wonder if the girl- Nina...” Ed’s breath hitched. “I wonder if she saw him, as his watched crawled to a stop.”

“I should’ve realized earlier, no one who does so little alchemy like Tucker could look that healthy...”

“It’s not your fault Fullmetal, and stop thinking that. None of us noticed. Well, at least her death was quick.” Something nagged at Ed. 

“How do you know for certain that Tucker died by the Deal? Scar messed up his body pretty well.”

“The face was busted and cracked. He ran out of time. Equivalent Exchange.” 

“It’s not really, alchemy, for life, that doesn’t seem fair.”

“Your life, for unimaginable power? There’s a lot of people who’d call that fair Edward.” Ed didn’t react to Mustang’s sudden change of names, there were other, worthier avenues of thought. Pain shot up through his leg, and he slumped to the floor, and put his chin in his hands. “What are you doing down there?”

“Thinking.”

“About?”

“Our situation.”

“The Scar situation, or the situation where we’re left owing most of our lives to some god that controls alchemy?”

“Um...

“Eloquent as  _ always  _ Fullmetal.” Mustang chuckled. 

“Shut up bastard, you were gonna run out your own clock faster with that fuckin’ stunt of yours if I hadn’t stopped you.”

“I’m already spilling my life like water, what’s a few more drops in the ocean?” Ed thought back to the cracked pocket watch surface.  _ Seconds, days, years _ . How many had Mustang lost with whatever stunt he had pulled with that watch? 

How many had  _ Ed  _ lost when he jumped headfirst into the Gate? 

“Hawkeye will kill you with her bare hands if she hears you say that. She likes you for some reason.”

“Trust me, I don’t know why either.” Mustang looked up at the slowly greying sky. “We should go inside, it’s about to rain, don’t want the clock to rust.”

“Silver doesn’t  _ rust  _ bastard, and you call yourself an alchemist.”

“I wasn’t talking about  _ my  _ clock Edward.” Ed paused, looking up at the older male. “I know yours is made of iron, it’ll get damaged out here, and it staying in your wet coat probably isn’t doing you any favors.” He was right, he  _ had  _ sat down just to relieve some of the pain. Getting up, Ed stretched, and walked over to the door. 

“Thanks, for the warning Colonel.” He said, and to Mustang’s credit, he didn’t mention the abrupt use of his title. As he walked through, Mustang called after him. 

“Keep good care of that watch Fullmetal. I’m not trying to get you killed.”

_ Stay safe.  _ Mustang  _ sucked  _ at expressing concern. Not that Ed could  _ talk  _ per say. 

“You too bastard, you’re an ass, but you’re one of the few not  _ completely  _ fucked up people in the military.” Ed walked back into the building, closing the door firmly behind him. 

He sighed, feeling the watch against his leg ticking away. It was louder than it was yesterday, probably because of the new damage he had racked up while fighting Scar. “Dammit, the fucking third-rate was right… Alchemy really  _ isn’t  _ the work of God.” 

And he hated the fact that watch ticking away at his life was just one more reminder of that.


End file.
